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Character traits of elizabeth proctor essay
Elizabeth Proctor character development
Character traits of elizabeth proctor essay
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“You have a faulty understanding of young girls. there is a promise made in any bed “In the Crucible by Arthur Miller, he introduces Elizabeth Proctor in Act 2. Elizabeth is a strong Christian woman that knows her true valves. Her strength and knowledge are show throughout the play. In Act 2, Elizabeth Proctor name has been used sinfully by Abigail Williams. She’s the girl whom Elizabeth throughout Act 2 is identified as wise. she recognized the affair and that her name is been used unjustifiably but her temper doesn’t take control of her action. Elizabeth is calm and thinks what would be the best way to handle this situation for her family.” It is her dearest hope, I know it, there’s be a thousand names, why does she call mine? There be a certain danger in calling such a name, I am no goody good that sleeps in ditches, nor Osborn, drunk and half witted. she’s dares not call out such a farmer …show more content…
Her fear took the best of her. Elizabeth until this point has said the truth but her knowledge of her death coming soon, she realizes on her husband to take care of her children.” I think I must go with them, Mary there is bread enough for the morning; you will bake, in the afternoon. Help Mr. Proctor as you were his daughter -you owe me that and much more. When the children wake, speak nothing of witchcraft -it will frighten them.” (Crucible Act 3) This worsen when John goes to the court to free her. He confesses of having an affair with Abigail. Elizabeth is brought in and her fear of her husband betting committed od adultery makes her lie. Elizabeth:” I came to think he fancied her. And so, one night, I lost my wits, I think and put her out on the highroad, Danforth:” your husband -did he indeed turn from you? Elizabeth:” my husband-is a goody man, sir.” (Crucible Act 3). During this moment Elizabeth ‘s life when telling the truth would mean salvation, she lies to save her husband’s
In The Crucible, the main struggle of all women is to be a perfect Puritan, wife, or friend, while the men struggle to uphold their reputations without sullying anyone else’s. Elizabeth Proctor is a prime example of a Puritan woman who strives to be the perfect wife. She demonstrates this by cooking for her husband and putting effort into cooking for him. When he compliments her food, she blushes, which exemplifies her desire to please him and to be a good wife for him. Elizabeth also forgives John for having an affair with Abigail. Even though John accuses her of judging him for his affair, Elizabeth maintains that she does not judge him for those actions. When he continues to claim that she has not and will not forgive him, she says, “I have sins of my own to count. It needs a cold wife to prompt lechery” (Miller 137). By saying this to John, she is telling him that she sins too and that she has things other than his sins to worry about. She appears to be hurt by his blame and lack of trust in her. John
Elizabeth too has attained quite a bit of respect from the townspeople. She is known by those around her to be a genuine and kind woman. Elizabeth is accused of witchcraft, but soon after they realize that the accuser’s claim is misleading. They figure this out in Act Two when Mary Warren confesses to the poppet being hers and not Elizabeth’s. Furthermore, Elizabeth is a fervent Puritan woman. With that being said, she never lies because that to her is equivalent to murder or adultery. The only time that she ever thought to tell a lie was when she was doing her best to protect her husband in the court; unfortunately, what she did wasn’t the best choice she could’ve made. Moreover, Elizabeth is faithful with her husband, but that doesn’t stop her from continuing to not have trust in him. For example, in the beginning of Act Two, John mentions to her that he had been alone with Abigail. Without a doubt, that makes Elizabeth uncomfortable because she has a bit of an idea of what John was hiding from the public eye. In the stage directions, Arthur Miller prompts the reader to feel and sympathize with Elizabeth. For instance, in the same Act, it says that John goes to give her a kiss and she simply receives it. She doesn’t kiss him back showing that she has no desire to be doing much with the man. Throughout the play, Arthur Miller does an exceptional job with how he portrays Elizabeth as a good
The Crucible tells of a town’s obsession of accusing innocent people of withcraft. One character that stands out and makes a spiritual growth is Elizabeth Proctor. Elizabeth allows her frustrations of her depression to overcome her religious beliefs which separates herself from God and her marriage. She grows spiritually and begins to understand the things going on around her which was the strength she needed in the beginning.
Abigail Williams is motivated to lie about her affair with John Proctor. What motivates her to lie is the thought of getting hung. Another big reason that she could be lying is for vengeance. Abigail loves John Proctor and one night they had an affair and touched. Since then, Abigail has been jealous towards John’s wife, Elizabeth. Abigail goes into the forest with some other young girls and Tituba, who makes a potion to have boys fall in love with them. This is a great example, “ABIGAIL, pulling her away from the window: I told him everything; he knows now, he knows everything we—BETTY: You drank blood, Abby! You didn't tell him that! ABIGAIL: Betty, you never say that
Elizabeth Proctor was probably one of the characters faced with the most stress and problem throughout the duration of “The Crucible” After a long period of illness, she try to live life as normal, despite having found out her husband committed adultery and, later, that she has been accused of witchcraft. Although she proves brave and strong and endures the experience, when the most important decision in the fiasco comes, she makes a controversial choice.
Elizabeth and John start to feel the tension when Elizabeth tries to convince John about going to court and persecuting Abigail but he refuses. When he disputes with his wife he argues, “you will judge me no more Elizabeth I have good reason to charge fraud on Abigail and I will think on it” (193). Proctor is not completely satisfied about throwing Abigail under the bus because he doesn’t want to initially hurt her and he would lose his respect in the town if he did. So he isn’t convinced about the fact that his wife is trying to get him to charge fraud at this point of the play. Soon afterward Mary the proctor’s servant comes home with news that Elizabeth has been convicted of witchcraft as well and was arrested by the sheriff in town to be brought to the trials.
Comparison of Elizabeth Proctor with Abigail Williams in Arthur Miller's The Crucible Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor, the leading female characters in 'The Crucible'. Both show determination in order to get what they want. Abigail, a cunning girl that is out for revenge, feels she has superiority over many of the other characters even though she is only a young girl. Elizabeth's character portrays a wife in distress after she finds out about her husband's affair, yet she still has courage throughout the play. She shows determination when she is in need of strength to keep her going, after Abigail accused her of witchcraft.
John Proctor is an honest, though harsh, man who is clearly the protagonist of The Crucible. Before the beginning of the play, John had an affair with Abigail Williams, a girl who worked in his household, which was abruptly ended when Elizabeth Proctor, John's wife, fired her. This event causes Abigail to desire revenge against Elizabeth while she still pines for John. Once the trials are well underway, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of being a witch, which leads to her arrest. John goes to the court in defense of his wife, where he reveals that he did indeed committed adultery with Abigail in an attempt to expose her as a fraud and a liar. Unfortunately, John's appeal falls on deaf ears and he is arrested as well. While his wife manages to get a temporary stay of execution, due to the fact that she is pregnant at the time of the trials, which in the end saves her by insuring her life until the chaos, hysteria, and persecution comes to an end, John is sentenced to death. The play ends with his hanging, but his death puts an end to the trials.
Throughout the entire play, Abigail is angry at John for not loving her back after the affair which preceded the play. Abigail is speaking to John, and she claims that he is still in love with her. As John rejects this idea, Abigail stills desires love from John. In Act I, Abigail says,“It’s she that put me out, you cannot pretend it were you. I saw your face when she put me out, and you loved me then and you do now (Miller I).” She is using her words to manipulate John into loving her. Later in the play, she accuses John’s wife of witchcraft to get back at John. This backfires on her when John dies at the end of the play. Abigail quickly becomes an adversary of John after she harasses his family and his life. Abigail shows her anger towards John Proctor by accusing his wife and eventually hanging
In The Crucible, two characters that serve as a foil for each other are Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail. Elizabeth Proctor is known as an honest woman, while Abigail is consistently seen as a dishonest person whose lies result in the widespread paranoia of the Salem witch trials. For instance, after she dances in the forest with other girls, she forbids them from telling the townsfolk about it and accuses other people of witchcraft, which leads to their deaths. Another example is the fact that she had an affair with John Proctor, Elizabeth’s husband, and tries to conceal it because she does not want her reputation to get ruined. Her motive for accusing others of witchcraft is because she wants to get rid of Elizabeth so that she could be John’s “perfect wife,” and because she does not want to get in trouble. Abigail is the perfect foil for anyone who is even slightly honest.
Elizabeth Proctor is used in The Crucible to illustrate the powerful strength of what manipulation has over any living mortal. Typically an honest person under their religious faith would believe in telling the truth, but not while having an evil thoughts being whispered in your ear disguised as manipulation. Already knowledgeable of her husband’s previous affair with Abigail Williams, Elizabeth fears of ruining the Proctor name in the town of Salem, Massachusetts due to John’s affair and since John is a high authority figure in the church, it would ruining his name and people would not respect him as a preacher anymore. So in the process of saving the Proctor name, regardless of John admitting the truth by making the court aware of the recent affair he had with Abigail, Elizabeth denies those allegations because she fears that John will be upset to the utmost point, so she sacrifices herself to protect the Proctor name, even though she fears that she hopes that she made the right decision, as shown when she tried to clarify all statements be...
The most important scene in the play was act two, scene three, where John Proctor is able to talk with his wife, Elizabeth, one last time. He decides that he will "confess" to the crime of witchcraft, thereby avoiding being hung. He says to Elizabeth:
When we are first introduced to John Proctor, we learn of his affair with Abigail Williams, Abigail's involvement in the accusations of witchcraft, and of John's desire to do what is honorable. Because of John's desire to do what is honorable, he ends the affair with Abigail and begins to attempt to repair his broken marriage. Abigail's jealously of Elizabeth and desire to be John's wife leads to Elizabeth's name being mentioned in court. Abigail's mention of Elizabeth's name in court reveals her attempt to get rid of Elizabeth for she knows Elizabeth will claim innocence and be hung if she does. When word reaches the Proctors, about Abigail's mentioning of Elizabeth's name in court, John concludes that Abigail's motive is to kill Elizabeth. Knowing this information, John is faced with his first difficult decision, save his reputation, keep his affair a secret, and let the accusations continue, or ruin his reputation, tell of his affair, and end the girls' accusations. Not wanting to ruin his good name, John decides to hold his tongue and because of this the trials continue and more accusations are made, some of which lead to his wife's and his friends arrest for witchcraft and bewitchment.
Abigail accuses innocent people of witchcraft, including John’s wife, Elizabeth. She does this so her and John would be together and Elizabeth wouldn’t be in his life, even after John told Abigail he does not love her. He faces this crucible throughout the play and changes his demeanor towards Abigail. John becomes infuriated and he wants to expose Abigail for making false accusations of witchcraft, although it might include his confession of adultery. John eventually confesses his sin of adultery but refuses for it to be made public and posted on the church door, resulting in his
Elizabeth Proctor has many moments which show how she is changing throughout the play. When she is trying to persuade Proctor to tell the court that Abigail said the girls were not practicing witchcraft, Elizabeth blurts out, "John, if it were not Abigail that you must go to hurt, would you falter now? I think not." Elizabeth is confessing that she believes Proctor had an affair with Abigail. She is giving him no mercy by showing that she will never forget what happened. When Elizabeth is being accused of stabbing Abigail, she instructs Proctor to go to court, and tells him "Oh, John, bring me soon!" Elizabeth is gaining trust in John. She is forgetting his act of adultery and now has faith that he will defend her. At the end of the play, when Proctor is sentenced to death, Elizabeth says that "he [has] his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him!" Elizabeth is admitting that John was righteous to confess his sin of lechery, and she should have pardoned him. She considers herself impure for not showing mercy, and does not want to take away from his glory. Elizabeth has transformed from an ignorant victim of adultery, to a forgiving, loving wife.